The details were obtained having fun with questionnaires, interviews, and you will communications logs

This study plans to verify the effectiveness of a different cellular messaging application named MAAN, meaning that together in Arabic, to have people having ASD, playing with pre-post data analysis. The aim of MAAN will be to give an accessible, safe, and easy-to-use messaging app to possess people having ASD thus help their addition into the people. In this analysis, i hypothesized the next: (1) This new access to features of cellular software (text-to-message [TTS], speech-to-text message [STT], and you may telecommunications symbols [CS]), which can be used on MAAN, can raise the latest societal and you can why are Vientiane women so beautiful telecommunications enjoy from grownups which have ASD; and (2) The effective use of brand new application can aid in reducing public loneliness inside adults having ASD.

Investigation Construction

A mixed procedures approach was then followed within study. Seven adults with ASD have been expected to make use of MAAN and their caregivers to own sixteen weeks. Prior to the construction and you may growth of MAAN, semistructured interview was in fact conducted with pros to discuss this new first proposed application build. The new app framework was then changed with regards to the obtained views. Next, adults which have ASD as well as their parents otherwise caregivers was basically expected in order to explore MAAN to have a time period of sixteen days. This years try implemented from the studies from the Laugeson ainsi que al , and therefore suggested that if receiving public and you can communications experience treatments, update is evident during the 16 weeks. The analysis become by getting in touch with somebody happy to participate. Because of COVID-19, the first meetings into the people was basically conducted online. All the people obtained an email to possess discussing the analysis information, such as time and date, and you may good weblink to have meeting told concur for an online conference with the members, people they know, in addition to their parents. Immediately following finding new participants’ agree, these were questioned in order to complete an online prestudy survey manageable to collect demographical pointers. The parents otherwise caregivers of the professionals was indeed including expected in order to done a primary style of this new Societal and you can Mental Loneliness Measure for Adults (SELSA-S) survey . The goal of this questionnaire was to dictate the latest social and you may nearest and dearest loneliness of people. For the a virtual meeting, the principal researcher said brand new application possess in detail and you will responded after that questions regarding the study. The participants was indeed and provided by an excellent hotline so you’re able to statement one matter they might deal with in this study. To be sure the continuity of information range, the players was in fact expected so that the new application try always powering from the records.

After the analysis, all professionals with ASD as well as their caregivers otherwise parents completed the latest Cellular Application Rating Measure: associate version (uMARS) survey. The fresh uMARS is a simple and you may legitimate product that can be utilized by avoid-pages to assess the quality of mobile wellness apps. It gives a good 20-items size detailed with 4 goal quality subscales (wedding, functionality, esthetics, and you may suggestions high quality) and you can step 1 subjective high quality subscale. The intention of so it survey will be to gauge the app’s top quality when it comes to efficiency. The participants’ parents otherwise caregivers and additionally completed the latest SELSA-S survey once more to determine the participants’ personal and you will friends loneliness rates pursuing the analysis. Lastly, a great semistructured interviews having parents otherwise caregivers is actually held to gather information regarding the framework of application usage. The brand new interviews provided questions about the general app experience in words of functionality, functionality, and you may challenges found with all the software, and additionally tips for further enhancement.

MAAN Application Construction and Innovation

The new application consisted of the following step 3 main has: TTS, STT, and you will CS. Among the well-understood provides which can additionally be considered as a kind of assistive technologies are the new TTS ability, enabling users to listen created text towards a computer, tablet, or track somebody striving into the studying and you may decryption terms . Likewise, STT was an assistive tech feature used by people who strive with creating. This form of assistive tech allows address become converted into text message with the computing device. Each other features are aren’t used to assistance introduction education options . The new software along with integrated the new CS feature, that’s an important part out-of AAC-supported technology, and its own primary mission will be to let people who have ASD for the building phrases. We’re not conscious of one chatting software you to aids the new use of the CS element. TAWASOL icons have been used for the latest CS element. They certainly were created in 2013 because of the Mada Cardio, an enthusiastic assistive tech center for the Qatar. These types of icons represent the present day Basic Arabic language and tend to be designed to be culturally, socially, consistently, and you may linguistically acceptable. TAWASOL is dependent on the AAC Icons Collection which is led so you can nonverbal otherwise minimally verbal those who require choice communication solutions .